Uncle Hilário: a military tradition

Abstract

As part of the research that addresses the Narrativas militares: cenas e tipos (1878), by Visconde de Taunay, facing them in what they contain of hybridity and representation of moral conflicts, we propose to analyze the fifth and last of them, “Uncle Hilário”. Contrary to the others, the action of this one does not take place in the Paraguayan War, which is only indirectly alluded to. It is the story of a boy whose family cultivates the military tradition, including the rigid and “masculine” posture that is expected of him. However, he acts exactly the opposite of the expectations that such a tradition imposes. The conflict generated in the boy suggests other perspectives of the war, that is, of the “military tradition” and the recognition of the use of the uniform as a matter of honor, important in the consideration of questions related to the formation of the Brazilian army. In addition, the narrative suggests the study of the issue of wars that follow one another historically (composing military generations) and that serve as paradigms to be followed and/or discarded as counterexamples.